Frozen isn’t your typical princess tale. From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes the story of Anna, a fearless young princess. She journeys through the frosty wilderness in order to find her sister, Queen Elsa, who has trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Kids will enjoy watching the optimistic and lively Anna make her journey with the awkward mountain man Kristoff and the hilarious snowman Olaf. Check out what actress Kristen Bell, who voices Anna, had to say about Frozen, which arrives in theaters November 27.

Princess Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) finds Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) in her icy, secluded palace in a scene from Frozen, in theaters November 27.

TFK:

What inspired you to pursue this role?

KRISTEN BELL:

I loved watching Disney animation growing up. In my head I always envisioned myself as those characters, so it seemed like such a logical step when I became an actress to want to be a part of the projects that I loved as a kid.

TFK:

What did you do to get into character?

BELL:

On the days that I would record, [the directors] would meet me at Disney Animation Studios with comic-strip-like pictures of what they were recording that day, so I was able to visualize [the scenes].

TFK:

How would you describe your character, Anna? Are you anything like her?

BELL:

Initially, she wasn’t written as goofy as I played her. She was much more typical. As we were exploring the story line, I kept saying things like, ‘What if she was a little more awkward? What if she tripped a little bit, or what if she talked too much?’ I wanted her to have more characteristics that felt real. There’s nothing funny about perfection.

TFK:

The movie takes place in a cold, winter setting. How did you envision the winter weather while you were recording in California?

BELL:

While in the process of writing the script, the animators dug up tons of images to envision this world. They sent some of the team to the fjords in Norway and took pictures of outfits and shoes and sunsets. Then they brought it all back and decided what each character would wear. I used my imagination based off those pictures.

How is voicing a character different from the acting style that you would use during a movie or TV show?

BELL:

There’s a lot more imagination involved when it’s voice-over. In a movie, you have a partner to work with, so you kind of create with your partner. It’s like a ping-pong match. [In animation], you’re usually reading with a reader because the other actor can’t be there. When I was supposed to be recording with [actor Jonathan Gross, who plays Kristoff], I was actually recording with a guy named Jaime, who was Disney’s reader. I was then looking to the directors for direction. If we were recording a fight scene, they would help me to make sure that I didn’t sound way madder than [Jonathan]. You have to depend on your director a lot more in animation and depend a lot more on your scene partner in live action.

The hilarious magical snowman Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad) admires a flower in a scene from Frozen.

TFK:

Other than Anna, who is your favorite character?

BELL:

Olaf, because he’s funny. I like the funny guy. I married a funny guy. If I was writing this movie, Anna would’ve married Olaf. What’s the point of anything, if we aren’t laughing?

TFK:

Since you were playing a princess in this movie, do you have a favorite Disney Princess?

BELL:

Yes, Ariel. The Little Mermaid is my favorite because she was different. I think it was the time when Disney movies started to modernize a little bit. She collects forks. She has funny attributes. Also, she wanted to be a part of the world and wanted things other than her prince. So that spoke to me. I also really liked Aladdin.. Not because I identified with [Princess] Jasmine, but because I identified with Aladdin. I wanted the adventure. I wanted to have a pet monkey named Abu. That was really cool to me.

TFK:

What do you hope that kids will take away from this film?

BELL:

I hope that kids will realize how important the love of family is when they're watching the film. You need your family, however you identify it. You need whatever support system you have in your life, whether it’s blood[-related] or not, because we can’t exist without each other.

Frozen, in theaters November 27, is rated PG and also stars Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, and Santino Fontana.